Two Types Of Signature Items?

November 11, 2004

Newbie asking another silly question. This question is gleaned from reading recent threads of discussion/debate.

I noticed one school of thought is the signature item is to show "I've been here in this cache" and the item should be left and not traded.

Another school of thought is the signature item is collectible. And you should expect people or want people to collect them. (this is what I would prefer to have happen)

So my question is, should I make one type to stay there like a card, and one type people will want to collect if they choose? I have all sorts of cool ideas. I've been leaving cool stuff but its not necessarily collectible--nobody will know it was from me unless they compare logs.

I've got a ton of cool ideas up my sleeve for neat stuff to leave.

5.3k · November 11, 2004

The only thing that I leave that I want to stay in the cache is my signature in the logbook.

22k · November 11, 2004

Never heard of these 'not to be traded' items.

Edited November 11, 2004 by 11 After

November 11, 2004

Never heard of these 'not to be traded' items.

These are 3 people who posted in the "Elite members" post I'm posting them only because i'm confused and don't want to waste my time making cool stuff people won't take I am not intending to carry on any debate from that thread.

"The only thing I will not take from a cache obviously is another cacher's signature item with their name or photo on it. To me that's their mark indicating they found this cache. "

"That's a good point. Geocoins are signature items just as much as other personalized items and are not considered part of the geocaching swag for trade, but rather are considered signature items for collection. It's nice that someone would leave something behind when they take a signature item, but not required.

The same is true for TB's, although instead of being treated as signature items, these are a subgame to the game. The only time I've seen TB's encouraged to be traded are at caches set up to be TB Hotels. That's a specifity to the subgame that people generally follow."

"I did take one signature item on my first cache, but afterward I emailed the person who left it asking if I could keep it. They said that it was fine, and that they had a collection of other people's signature items as well. (My wife found a Jud' thimble in the cache and loved it, so I traded a beanie-baby for it.) I still tend to trade for the item no matter what it is."

Edited November 11, 2004 by amytincan

November 11, 2004

I've seen in logbooks cool stickers, like address labels, people have made and stuck under their log. I like that idea- its creative and the cache owner keeps it. :unsure:

Edited November 11, 2004 by j9cache

November 11, 2004

My signature fingerboards are just another piece of swag. Take it, leave it or smoke it. It's there for the next finder or cache owner to treat it however they see fit. I do like to hear when people enjoy them, but it's a trade goodie, just like anything else I leave in the cache.

I have traded for "Cacher ABC was here" items/tokens before. I never even thought that they weren't meant to be traded... This thread will make me think twice the next time. :unsure:

I have only been to one cache that stipulated, "The items in this bag are not for trading. They are only to give cachers some ideas on signature items. Please trade in and out of the other Ziplock bag."

22k · November 11, 2004

Never heard of these 'not to be traded' items.

These are 3 people who posted in the "Elite members" post I'm posting them only because i'm confused and don't want to waste my time making cool stuff people won't take I am not intending to carry on any debate from that thread.

I was serious, I've never heard of it.

I really doubt people expect their item to remain in someone else's cache. Keeping people from taking them would be pretty hard to enforce.

It has always been my understanding that signatures items are trade items. I suppose you could get a metal crimper or engrave something on an ammocan. :unsure:

November 11, 2004

I really doubt people expect their item to remain in someone else's cache. Keeping people from taking them would be pretty hard to enforce.

see why I'm confused?

I thought signature items were "swag with a kick" and used instead of typical swag. Then I read threads and people are talking about not trading signature items. EIther by not taking them period or trading swag plus taking signature item. I'm so confused

I want to have swag that is collectible and I want to collect signature items. I want people to collect my signature items. So if people won't take them I'd be wasting my time. Maybe the 3 people I quoted just play differently.

I was thrilled when I left an item behind the person who came around after took it. It wasn't signature but it was cool.

22k · November 11, 2004

I'm so confused

Don't bother being confused.

Just be bullheaded and assume they're trade items, like the majority of us do.

November 11, 2004

I'm so confused

Don't bother being confused.

Just be bullheaded and assume they're trade items, like the majority of us do.

allrighty then! back to planning fabulous signature swag that probably only a girl would want!

1.2k · November 11, 2004

We had some wooden nickels made up with our name, moniker, webpage, and the geocaching.com url on it.

We leave one in the caches we find, regardless whether we trade or not.

They can be traded for, kept (collected), or left...I don't care.

November 11, 2004

Just think about it, if signature items were to remain in the caches, soon all caches would be filled with them, leaving no place for normal swag!

3.9k · November 11, 2004

Anything in a cache, besides the log book and disposaple camera (if there happens to be one.) is there to trade. Trade items are highly sought after. Usually if I leave my trade item (which is rare.) it's gone within a day.

El Diablo

November 11, 2004

I leave my sig item for people to collect, if I am leaving it just for the cache owner I'll write it in the log book and post it in my online log.

November 11, 2004

Anything in a cache, besides the log book and disposaple camera (if there happens to be one.) is there to trade. Trade items are highly sought after. Usually if I leave my trade item (which is rare.) it's gone within a day.

El Diablo

Don't forget that the pen/pencil isn't a trade item, either. :unsure:

I don't have a signature item at this point. When I first started caching I had some leather keyrings that I had made so I was putting those in caches. I was kind of flattered when someone took one of the keyrings and made it into a travel bug. (The keyring had a heart on it, they added an old key and called it The Key To My Heart.)

My "caching buddy" Jeeps the Squirrel has a couple of signature items. We enjoy seeing logs that say that someone has traded for one of them. It's kind of neat when we go to a cache and one of the items is already there, or when we see someone wearing a "Geocaching with Jeeps" button.

So go ahead and trade for the signature item, most cachers would want you to.

November 11, 2004

If you make your signature item something really good you may have people watching your profile to see what caches you have hit. I make chainmail juggling ball that I leave in caches as my trademark item. I remember one weekend about a year and a half ago where I found 6 caches in a 70 to 80 mile loop driving from my home. Two days later, another geocacher hit all of the same caches, passing caches that he or she had not hit. At every cache they took the chainmail ball I left. I think it is lots of fun to have a highly sought after signature item. :unsure:

November 11, 2004

Sig cards and sig items are PRIMARILY what I trade. They are the best part of finding caches.

November 12, 2004

I have two.

One is a card for the finder to take, congratulating him/her on finding it. I leave a number of them in each cache I place.

The other is a 'drop-in' card that says I found it, and thanking the hider for the cache. If it gets taken, so be it, but essentially, it's for the cache owner to take when next he/she does maintenance.

November 12, 2004

I have signature magnets that I leave in most caches I do. I intend for them to be taken, and enjoy seeing that they have been. I haven't seen that many signature items in my area, but I'd like to collect some. I recently placed my first cache and put 10 of my magnets in for finders to take. So far, I think only one or two people have done so.

Unless something says to leave it, it should be fair game for trading.

2.6k · November 12, 2004

Nothing pleases me more than to see the next person who hits the cache log taking my signature item. Woohoo! In yer face, McToys!

1.4k · November 12, 2004

I think it kinda depends in the area you're in. I came from an area in the NW where it seemed like sig cards where almost the standard and pretty much they stayed with the log book like another way to see who had been then. Now where I am in California not many people have cards so I think they are traded for from time to time when found in a cache.

November 12, 2004

El Diablo
Don't forget that the pen/pencil isn't a trade item, there either.

I beg to differ...our sig item is a pencil and meant to give people a leg-up when ready to hide their own cache. :lol:

Edited November 12, 2004 by Charles Street Gang

November 12, 2004

I usually dont take sig items because I dont collect anything, especially not pieces of paper. Many times, these sig items are business style cards, that get wet, and then mold, or are illegible. This is an example of when I would take it, when it becomes garbage. :lol:

I think sig items are neat, and I like to look at them, but I just wouldnt collect them. I never collected baseball cards, or the like. Some people do, and I can dig that, but just not for me.

November 12, 2004

El Diablo
Don't forget that the pen/pencil isn't a trade item, there either.

I beg to differ...our sig item is a pencil and meant to give people a leg-up when ready to hide their own cache.

I was going to say "the sharpened pencil", but usually the point is broken off of it. And the pen is frozen, or leaking.

On the other hand, go ahead and take the pen or pencil. I've got my own. :lol:

3.8k · November 12, 2004

I do collect sig items. I think most people who leave them in a cache expect them to be taken. There is a quandry with some sig items, though. Sometimes the sig item is also a traveler, as in the famous Moun10Bike coins.

I snatched one of these on my recent journey to the north west. As much as I would like to own it, I finally gave it up to another geocacher. I'm not sure Moun10Bike considers these coins a sig item, but for practical purposes, they are. Also, for practical purposes, they are a trading item by nature.

I don't have a sig item, but if I did, I would be honored for people to collect them. If I did, I don't think I would consider having one item to trade and one to leave in the cache. It just seems like too much trouble. :lol:

November 12, 2004

Many times, these sig items are business style cards...

There is a couple, here in the Dallas area, who leave their "Caching Card" in every cache that they find. It has their cell phone number on it. They've made it known that you can call for hints "from-the-field" on caches they have found. I've never called, but most of my hunts are after midnight anyway.

Several months ago, one of the caches they had found got bulldozed in a park refurb. A city worker found their card inside and called them. They rescued the cache, (intact), and returned it to the cache owner. It was a pretty cool story. :lol:

2.5k · November 12, 2004

I say if someone left it

You can take it.

Plain and simple.

Seriously, the only thing you don't take is the log book.

If someone wants a certain cacher to get something, they should hand it to him/her in person.

November 13, 2004

I just plain like the idea of signature items. Like it's a part of your creativity that may inspire another. A way to get something of yourself out into the world that otherwise might never have. Gets the creative juices flowing. And it's fun!

1.4k · November 13, 2004

I usually dont take sig items because I dont collect anything, especially not pieces of paper. Many times, these sig items are business style cards, that get wet, and then mold, or are illegible.

Sounds like a poor cache to me. Someone needs to buy an ammo can. I see this too but it's because for some reason people think anything with a lid that snaps on is "water proof".

November 14, 2004

Here is my .02c - I have a somewhat popular geocoin (Vacman Geocoin. Right now there are 143 of these coins out in circulation. Of the 143, only 11 are currently available to find. 14 have completely disapeared, and roughly 40 are "in transit"(being placed by cachers who are not "keeping" them).

Originally, I thought that a few people would want to keep them, and the majority would continue to journey around the world. The reality is that people like them too much to give them up.

I no longer really care what people do with them as long as they log their intent on my site.

November 14, 2004

I started making signature item early on. I never considered whether it would remain in the cache. Mine is an item that others can use or not. I am now making the sig items for cachers to collect as a series. Similar item with a different design.

Considering if someone has collected an entire series.. 5 or so different designs. That there could be a prize???

Giving it a lot of thought. So yes.. take my sig item and hang on to it.. or pass it on to another cache.

November 14, 2004

My signature item is a magnet and I hope folks will take them after I leave them. They don't have my name on them - - to limit the should I take it confusion - - but I note in the log that the mask magnet is my calling card and you can see pictures in my profile. One day I hope to go into someone's house and see my calling card on thier fridge.

November 14, 2004

This has been a most interesting thread to read. I don't have a signature item, but I do like to leave the type of things I would enjoy swapping for and keeping. Hopefully another geocacher will come across it and feel the same way. If there are any 'I was here' cards, I wouldn't even consider taking it. I don't see that it would be mean anything to anyone except maybe the cache owner. A signature item that is unique and interesting would be a real treat to find, however.

9.5k · November 14, 2004

I put a personal gold or silver label in the logs...

I expect that to stay for the cache owner.

For the collectors, I toss in a card...

...and I also toss in a key tag when I remember to bring them with me...

November 15, 2004

I have never heard of a sig item that you are not expected to take if you like it. I leave little clay heads that I make in caches that I visit that have room for them, and people seem to like them. I do not trade, but sometimes I like to leave something that I think is pretty cool.

November 15, 2004

I don't have a sig item, but if I did, I would be honored for people to collect them.

Sure ya do! It's sitting on a shelf in my kitchen right now!

Edited November 15, 2004 by Pipanella

November 15, 2004

I've only recently decided to use Pace Cords as my signature item. I make them myself from paracord and some skull beads I mail order.

I TOTALLY want people to take them.

My dream is to go to a geocaching event, and walk up to people I see wearing them, (Lots, I hope!) introduce myself, and ask them "From which cache did you get your cord?"

I think that would be great!

Lunumbra

November 16, 2004

What are pace cords?

November 16, 2004

Pace Cord: a length of cord, usually paracord stripped of it's core and doubled over, with thirteen beads on it. Divided into two sections with a knot, four beads above the knot, nine beads below.

This is the notice that I'm working on to go with the pace cord . . .

Pace Cord

This is a Pace Cord, it is an "old school" method for approximating distance while walking. Find a football field, start at one goal line and walk the length of the field. Start with your right foot, and count every time your LEFT foot hits the ground. Do this several times and average the results. You now know your "Pace Count" for 100 yards. Start with the beads, on both the upper and lower parts of the cord, at the top of their sections. While walking, count every time your LEFT foot hits the ground. When you hit your "Pace Count", pull down one of the lower beads. You've now travelled approximately 100 Yards. When you have lowered all nine lower beads, and you again hit your pace count, lower one of the upper beads, and reset the lower beads at the top of their section of cord. You've now travelled approx. 1000 Yards. When you've used up ALL your beads, and you hit your pace count one more time, you've travelled approx. 5000 yards, and you reset both sections of beads back to the top. Next time your GPSr tells you that you are 365 yards away from a cache, you'll have an idea how far away that is! Please wear your new Pace Cord to Geocaching events. If I spot it, I'll step up and introduce myself!

I figured a bunch of people who are interested in navigating might appreciate a simple tool that would help them develop their "distance sense". I know that I always have trouble translating a distance number from my GPSr, into walking distance / time.

Lunumbra

November 16, 2004

Thanks for explaining that! It sounds REALLY neat!

3.8k · November 16, 2004

Presently, I have two different sig items that I leave in caches. One is a green Shop99er Tiki Token, and the other is a brown Shop99er Stump token.

I put them in hoping that they will be picked up. When they are, it tickles me no end. Every now and then, someone will come up to me at sme function or other and tell me that they have one of my tokens in their collection, and I'm delighted. :huh:

I figure if it's in the cache, it's fair game, except for the logbook.

November 16, 2004

I also have 2 different sig items,1 being my tokens,the other .my mini ammo cans. :huh:

3.8k · November 16, 2004

I also have 2 different sig items,1 being my tokens,the other .my mini ammo cans.

Where did you get those ammo boxes!!!!! :lol:

November 16, 2004

I hand make them :huh:

Edited November 16, 2004 by habercacher

3.8k · November 16, 2004

Any chance you might e-mail me some instructions/drawings?

November 16, 2004

Any chance you might e-mail me some instructions/drawings?

I`m too much of internetidiot to figure out how to e-mail instructions /drawings,but I can certainly snail mail you some!Just e-mail me your address :huh:

Edited November 16, 2004 by habercacher

November 16, 2004

Being as I make stuff out of chainmail (as is evident from my avatar). I'd like to think of the keychains, fobs, whatever you want to call them that I put in caches as my signature item. Does this make sense? :huh: :lol: :huh:

Edited November 16, 2004 by MTCache

November 16, 2004

Being as I make stuff out of chainmail (as is evident from my avatar). I'd like to think of the keychains, fobs, whatever you want to call them that I put in caches as my signature item. Does this make sense?

Makes sense to me :lol: .I think of a sig item as something that you enjoy making/collecting that you would like for poeple to recognize as YOUR signature item that you bring to the game.

November 17, 2004

Anything in a cache, besides the log book and disposaple camera (if there happens to be one.) is there to trade.

And carved stamps. Please don't trade for the stamp if you find a Letterbox-hybrid cache!

2.3k · November 19, 2004

Finally got around to getting my 2nd sig item worked out.

This one:

is what I use to trade for other items and/or give out when meeting other cachers. It is complete with log, cache sheet and pencil. Very waterproof and durable. It's actual size is about 5" long and 1" diameter.

This one:

is my new one. I am going to leave these in caches that I find, sort of like my 'calling card'. 1 skull for a micro, 2 for a small etc. This one for a regular cache is about 2" overall length.

Two Types Of Signature Items?

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